Juan Cole says the Iraq "election" was a joke!

Here's a snip from a great article:

With all the hoopla, it is easy to forget that this was an extremely troubling and flawed "election." Iraq is an armed camp. There were troops and security checkpoints everywhere. Vehicle traffic was banned. The measures were successful in cutting down on car bombings that could have done massive damage. But even these Draconian steps did not prevent widespread attacks, which is not actually good news. There is every reason to think that when the vehicle traffic starts up again, so will the guerrilla insurgency.

The Iraqis did not know the names of the candidates for whom they were supposedly voting. What kind of an election is anonymous! There were even some angry politicians late last week who found out they had been included on lists without their permission. Al-Zaman compared the election process to buying fruit wholesale and sight unseen. (This is the part of the process that I called a "joke," and I stand by that.)

This thing was more like a referendum than an election. It was a referendum on which major party list associated with which major leader would lead parliament.

Many of the voters came out to cast their ballots in the belief that it was the only way to regain enough sovereignty to get American troops back out of their country. The new parliament is unlikely to make such a demand immediately, because its members will be afraid of being killed by the Baath military. One fears a certain amount of resentment among the electorate when this reticence becomes clear.

more...

http://www.juancole.com/2005/01/mixed-story-im-just-appalled-by.html

Juan Cole and Robert Fisk are the two reporters I respect most regarding Iraq. Everyone else on MSM comes off like a cheerleading Matt and Katie. If Juan Cole says it was a joke, I believe it!

I've been reading him for close to three years now, and he keeps throwing bullseyes. :thumbsup:

He's been doing some very courageous reporting. In one of his last pieces he reported on fake footage CNN manufactured for this election charade. These three men ROCK!

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(snip)

“I’d been in Fallujah for a week and all I’d seen was tough military tactics,” he tells me, “They are arresting people and putting them in these trucks, blindfolded and tied up. Everywhere I looked all I saw was utter devastation.”

He spoke with many families who told him one horror story after another, death after death after death.

“Then today, the military brings in a dozen Humvees and ground troops to basically seal off a small area near a market,” he continues, “In the middle of them is a CNN camera crew filming troops throwing candy to kids and these guys in orange vests start cleaning the streets around them.”

He laughs while holding up his arms and says, “I’d never seen those guys anywhere in the city before. I don’t know where they came from.”

After a pause to take a drink of soda he adds, “I’d never seen any boots on the ground at all, and all of the sudden there are all these marines standing around like everything was ok. It was the first time I’d seen any soldier not in a Humvee or a Bradley. I was really surprised.”

“All of it was 100% staged. Good PR before the election,” he says. Then in a reference to mainstream America he adds, “Fallujah is fine, now go back to sleep.”

(snip)

http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/archives/dispatches/000186.php#more

His full report is posted here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1547106&mesg_id=1549243

It's good to read corroboration from someone who was actually there to witness the charade.

Thanks for sharing the work of Dahr Jamail. I'll be sure to read more of his blog. Looks great!

Thanks for pointing that out. So Bush pretty caved in to Ayatollah Sistani, hmmm? And then took credit when he reversed himself.

Kind of like when credit for that bill in Texas that was passed over his veto.

was revealed to be an IRANIAN SPY!!!

Is there anything in Iraq that Dumbya has done right?! LOL!